DSA set up for fall! | savenycjobs

The only real option to end NYC’s three unchecked crises: [1] small business, [2] empty store blight, and [3] affordability crisis, is to end the destructive real estate oligarchy economy and return to an entrepreneur economy. Why is Mayor Mamdani turning his back on small business owners and their workers by keeping the destructive real estate oligarchy economy?

Before we make the case of why the powerful real estate lobby REBNY had their most trusted loyalists deceive several DSA lawmakers into being lobbyists of their destructive status quo NYC Commercial Rent Stabilization Act, REBNY’s Bill, we need to first set the record straight on our only motive. After our Part I OP ED* was released, several people commented on why we were so anti Mayor Mamdani and DSA lawmakers. This anger was especially strong with those who viewed our website** to see several articles on Mayor Mamdani. Regrettably none of the critics bothered to take the time to carefully read any of the articles. If they had they would have first seen our articles strongly endorsing him as the only real hope to stand up to REBNY and appoint a pro entrepreneur Commissioner of Small Business Services. One who actually had started and built a successful business in NYC and would be a strong voice for small business owners and their workers and not a hand picked real estate lobby lackey.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/rebny-cons-dsa-to-be-a-lobby

** https://www.savenycjobs.com/

Our negative Mamdani articles only appeared after he was hoodwinked into making one of the most politically self-inflicting decisions possible for a new Mayor. As the lone NYC voice fighting for small business owners’ rights in the critical commercial lease renewal process we had to give a warning that if candidate Mamdani kept his pledge to give the pro real estate loyalist Maria Torres Springer oversight of his economic transition team then his administration would be continuing the same anti-small business/jobs real estate oligarchy economy. We detailed her shameful record* under both the de Blasio and Adams administrations to protect the real estate oligarchy economy while denying small business owners any honest hearing to find a solution to the high rent crisis. Under her watch, a growing purposely ignored crisis causing record forced closing of very successful business owners and loss of jobs was left deliberately unchecked, which resulted in NYC as the only city in America during a robust economic recovery to have an empty store blight crisis. Our warning was mostly directed at DSA members to wake up and protect Mamdani from making a critical long term political mistake. A mistake, when exposed to the public, that would hurt his and DSA’s image, competency and reputation.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/withdraw-support-for-mamdani

We were hoping that our warning would result in at least one DSA voice who was not economically challenged to investigate the record of Maria Torres Springer to see if our warning was justified. No one took the time to research her record and expose who she would be serving if empowered in the Mamdani administration. The outcome of this gross negligence in vetting for her position is clear. Now we can see DSA’s profound ignorance of the workings of the backbone of local economies, and Mamdani being duped by a REBNY loyalist pretending to be a progressive. This has resulted in Mayor Mamdani keeping the same economy as former Mayors de Blasio and Adams, a real estate oligarchy economy.

Those claiming that we are anti Mayor Mamdani could not be further from the truth. Yes, most true small business advocates are very disappointed and angry with his economic decisions. After all, for the first time in decades a Mayoral candidate not controlled by Big real estate and who was opposed by the wealthy and corrupt party bosses was going to win. Also, he was a true progressive whose DSA ideals were the exact opposite from those of Big business and their backed candidates. Yes, angry knowing that if Mayor Mamdani lives up to his and DSA principles and appoints one non political qualified SBS Commissioner who would hold just one honest hearing to find the best solution to stop the forced closing of good businesses when their leases expire then that would be the end of the small business crisis, empty store blight crisis and begin of seriously addressing the affordability crisis. Or he could simply act and put his principles first and “do the right thing” and reintroduce the Jobs Survival Act. We called him out because he betrayed every business owner and their workers by passing up the best and only opportunity to restore the American Dream for thousands of hard working business owners and tens of thousands of their workers. That is just a sad fact!

In every OP ED concerning the city’s economy, we make a point to show that a better option existed for Mayor Mamdani to take that would make him and DSA heroes for the exploitered, discriminated, and voiceless business owners and their workers. That option, Jobs Survival Act, would for the first time, give real rights to all business owners when their leases expired that would restore the American Dream for countless business owners and their workers. We criticized Mayor Mamdani for prioritizing a real estate oligarchy over a small business crisis.

Therefore, we need not apologize for telling the truth that exposes the worst possible decision Mayor Mamdani was duped into making, one that left in place a real estate oligarchy responsible for creating three unchecked crises and jeopardizing the futures of countless business owners and their workers every time their leases expired in NYC.

PART II

Why did REBNY make a high risk move by putting their REBNY’s Bill into the hands of DSA lawmakers?

Would DSA lawmakers promoting REBNY’s Bill be surprised that the true intent of the bill they are sponsoring was actually to stop a vote on the Jobs Survival Act and then later replace it in the new City Council? Would they be more shocked to learn that the real influencer behind REBNY’s Bill was the real estate lobby REBNY?* The truth behind the creation of REBNY’s Bill exposes the blatant corruption of the Democratic leadership by a lobby. The original REBNY’s Bill was a cleverly disguised status quo bill that did not give any business owner the right to renew their leases or any real rights in the landlord controlled commercial lease renewal process. The bill would not save a single business owner or the jobs of their workers. In fact, REBNY’s Bill, even amended today giving the right to renew, would make the city’s three crises caused by a greedy real estate oligarchy economy much worse.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/lobby-bill-sub-jobs-act

REBNY’s Bill is an outcome of a lobby high jacking democracy out of desperation to keep the status quo for landlords! REBNY’s Bill would not exist in any city that practiced good government or refused to have it’s economy controlled by a lobby. REBNY’s Bill is the most anti-small business, anti-immigrant families and anti -workers legislation in Council history.*

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/crs-bill-anti-jobs

These links** detail the total breakdown of democracy that sanctioned corrupted Democratic leadership to look the other way while REBNY crafted their substitute bill for the Jobs Survival Act.

** https://www.savenycjobs.com/crs-anti-immigrant

https://www.savenycjobs.com/crs-anti-immigrant-1

Brief background summary of REBNY’s Bill, a status quo bill that shattered the integrity of the Council!

A REBNY sinister scheme was cooked up to stop a vote on the Jobs Survival Act, a bill giving business owners the rights they needed when their leases expired to have a fighting chance to protect their investment and the jobs of their workers.

The rapid growth of empty store fronts on every block caused a call for a hearing and action from the City Council. As the only real solution to end the empty store blight the Jobs Survival Act should have been the focus of any hearing but instead would never get an honest hearing in the Council. REBNY orchestrated the biggest sham hearing ever held in the City Council. Every REBNY shill was called into action to repeat the coached REBNY narrative to carry out their game plan. Their scheme was having all these shills oppose a vote on the bill and instead to call for the bill to be amended before a Council vote. The lame excuse testified by all the shills was that the bill should not protect big Fortune 500 companies. After every REBNY shill testified, Speaker Johnson repeated that the bill must be amended before a vote could be taken. Once any calls for a vote on the bill were silenced, then after the hearing the bill would be watered down to keep the status quo for landlords and quickly voted into law, as the Speaker had promised.

REBNY’s scheme blew up when the bill’s prime sponsor backed out and refused to water down the bill. Panic set in because Johnson had pledged repeatedly that the bill would be voted on after it was amended. That amendment was never challenged by the advocates because it was an obvious “red herring” and would not change the protection of the bill for business owners. The amendment involved the changing of one paragraph in the scope of the bill or an estimated 2 hours! At the hearing there was no real rational justification given by anyone to stop a vote on the Jobs Survival Act. Nor did any lobby shill testifying give an alternative real solution to end the empty store blight crisis.

REBNY was checkmated, game over, Jobs Survival Act could not be stopped with 28 sponsors and a pledge by the Speaker for a quick vote! The end of the over decade small business crisis caused by insane rent increases would end! The empty store blight would also end along with the illegal extortion of cash from mostly immigrant owners and the cruel short term leases of sometimes month to month and one/two years.

What REBNY should have done if they had any respect for small business owners and their workers or any real concern for the welfare of working families would have been to reach out to seek a compromise in the Jobs Survival Act and allow it to be voted on. But instead, they used blatant arrogance in the extreme by ignoring City Council rules and creating their own legislation, the original REBNY’s Bill. They called upon their loyalists to join them in this conspiracy to corrupt democracy in plain sight in the Council. They demanded that Speaker Johnson stall on amending the Jobs Survival Act while they schemed with leadership loyalist lawmakers to create their own bill.

The two hour amendment to the Jobs Survival Act never happened in 3 years!

On November 14, 2019 a lobby inspired bill, Commercial Rent Stabilization Act, rightfully call REBNY’s Bill was introduced in the City Council. The original REBNY’s Bill is the lowest point of morality and decency for the City Council. The lobby’s bill was illegally made by violating every rule of the City Council. Two bills, Jobs Survival Act and REBNY’s Bill, with the same legislation governing commercial lease renewal guidelines were in the Council at the same time. Two bills with opposite intents that would produce opposite outcomes for business owners and their employees. Two bills with 28 sponsors each of which the majority of members were on both bills at the same time!! In fact, two sponsors of the Jobs Survival Act would later be hand picked to be prime sponsors of REBNY’s Bill when reintroduced on March 24, 2022, Councilwomen Rivera and Ayala. Both were also hand picked to be on the Small Business Committee to ensure no honest hearing ever for business owners. But before REBNY’s Bill was introduced both were silently taken off the committee to protect them.

The full power and control over the Council by REBNY was exposed when 26 Council Members who were sponsors of the Jobs Survival Act were also at the same time sponsors of REBNY’s Bill!! Council Members elected to be responsible for the welfare of their own merchants and workers and to protect their futures, but instead would so easily and so obviously rush to then serve a lobby to betray them.

The corruption of the Democratic leadership was staggering in what in any other city government would be an investigation leading to a major scandal.

How, in all conscience could any Council Member justify, first sponsoring legislation giving their own merchants the right to renew 10 year leases, equal rights to negotiate fair lease terms and an arbitration process based upon a case by case guidelines to end landlord abuses and encourage a return to bargaining in good faith, then to switch to a lobby created bill that gave no right to renew the lease and no real rights for business owners in the landlord’s “take it or leave” controlled process? Would any Council Member be honest with their own merchants and their workers to give them the choice between the two bills? Shamefully NO! To this day few of the city’s 195K plus business owners are even aware of the only lifeline Jobs Survival Act or of the status quo lobby’s REBNY’s Bill. Pure deceit in the extreme!

The one Councilman who was entrusted by REBNY to promote their shameful status quo bill to the public and media was Brad Lander. He would willfully lie to the public on behalf of REBNY when he created a website asking the public to sign a petition calling for passage of REBNY’s Bill as the solution to save their local businesses. As the Council’s policy director this link* exposes his key role in the corruption and betrayal of democracy, business owners and their workers, and especially immigrant family owners and their employees. Read Brad Lander’s testimony at the June 29,2009 hearing on the Jobs Survival Act and you will be disgusted by his purposely deceitful promoting REBNY’s Bill.

Brad Lander is no progressive but a pathetic opportunist.

* https://www.savenycjobs.com/brad-lander-leads-rigging

The 28 Council Members end up keeping their own merchants and workers in the dark by supporting the job destroyers and not the job creators.

On April 25, 2019, the DSA, NYS Senator Julia Salazar did the right thing for NYC’s small business owners, their workers and to give the best demonstration of DSA principles when she introduced the Small Business Survival Act, Jobs Survival Act. She likely got positive details of the bill from co-sponsor Senator Robert Jackson. When he was in the City Council, Jackson was the bill’s prime sponsor and fought to gain an emergency hearing by the Small Business Committee in June 2009. At this hearing the entire committee members selected the Jobs Survival Act as the best solution to save small business owners from sky high rent demands when their leases expired, and end their crisis. Every member became sponsors of the bill, making 32 Council Member sponsors and easy passage at the next full Council meeting. But REBNY called upon their loyalists to lie and stop any vote on the bill. Their collusion with the Speakers’ Office to rig the system against the bill would prevent four votes on the Jobs Survival Act over the next decade.

On March 24, 2022 REBNY’s Bill was reintroduced in the City Council with 25 sponsors. The scheme by REBNY to replace the Jobs Survival Act was successful and for the first time since June 1986 the Jobs Survival Act was not in the City Council!

On December 31, 2023 REBNY’s Bill along with all pending legislation expired. But on January 2024 REBNY’s Bill was NOT reintroduced in the City Council. For the first time in four decades NO pending legislation existed in the City Council that addressed regulation in the vital commercial lease renewal process, the status quo remained intact!

On June 2, 2025 Senator Salazar dropped the Jobs Survival Act in favor of the status quo New York City Small Business Rent Stabilization Act, REBNY’s Bill. Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher introduced the same bill in the Assembly.

On June 11, 2026 DSA Council Members: Caban, Aviles, Osse and Hanif led the fight to pass the resolution calling on the NYS Legislature to pass REBNY’s Bill.

Did these DSA lawmakers fail to do their homework and read the bill before supporting it? Why didn’t any red flags go up with REBNY’s Bill never having a hearing in 5 ½ years in the Council? REBNY could have easily passed their bill at anytime in the Council. Why is there no common sense used if this legislation was promoted by Lander and other REBNY loyalists to save small business owners then why let it expire in silence? Why no effort to find a new and better solution to save small businesses and their worker’s jobs? Most importantly is why no DSA lawmaker has asked if there is a better solution than REBNY’s Bill to protect and save small business owners and their workers when their leases expire?

Every politician in NYC is fully aware that REBNY’s only interest and priority is to serve the property owners and increase their potential for making bigger profits. Also, politicians are aware that DSA’s priority is to empower and serve the needs of working families. Why did REBNY, who for over a decade have full control at City Hall over the highly profitable for landlords commercial lease renewal process decide to hand over control of their bill to DSA lawmakers to promote and pass into law? The despicable truth, REBNY knows that when the victims of landlord’s greed find out that they have been betrayed by lawmakers they will become ENRAGED! REBNY wants that rage to be directed to DSA lawmakers and away from the corrupted Council Members they put into office.

REBNY wants DSA lawmakers to take full responsibility for REBNY’s Bill because they know it is the most anti-small business, anti-jobs and anti-immigrant family legislation in Council’s history. They also know that REBNY’s Bill is the most politically toxic bill for lawmakers in Council history! If on behalf of their own merchants and workers DSA did their due diligence on the history of both the Jobs Survival Act and REBNY’s Bill they would have discovered that none of their merchants would ever want REBNY’s Bill. All would reject having their potentials for prosperity and the futures of their American Dream determined by government oversight. The majority of business owners do not TRUST government involved in their business affairs. Why don’t DSA lawmakers see how absurd REBNY’s Bill is in having one annual rent rate increase to apply to all 195K diverse businesses scattered throughout all the Boroughs. Ridiculous!

If any DSA lawmaker was to speak before a room full of REBNY shills: property owner controlled BIDS, developer/fat cats friendly Chambers, lobby picked SBS Commissioners, developer friendly EDC, members of fake lobby influenced coalitions like Small Business United and United for Small Business NYC, Partnership for NYC and NYC Hospitality Alliance, pledging to call for a vote on REBNY’s Bill, the applause would be deafening. Praises and awards with a media campaign would likely follow. But DSA lawmakers speaking before the victims of a failed grossly one sided commercial lease renewal process that was destroying the American Dream of countless owners, on the other hand, that response would be rage and cries of betrayal.

REBNY gave DSA lawmakers their bill because they know that they would be attacked by the small business owners and their workers, especially in the immigrant communities. REBNY also knew that a campaign exposing the image of DSA as ignorant of the workings of small business owners, of lacking basic economics, and being anti immigrant families, would harm them to voters. A REBNY orchestrated message to voters that DSA lawmakers and candidates are anti small business, bad for the economy, bad for job security, and that their socialist principles would lead to higher property taxes and thus higher residential rents, is being planned. REBNY is no friend of DSA members and fear them because they do not control them like they do with the majority of Democratic lawmakers. They want them to fail and what better way to succeed than to put into their hands a politically toxic bill to promote.

With all the negative media from the Republicans attacking the DSA image we thought that DSA lawmakers would welcome a great opportunity to show a positive image that would boost the DSA brand. DSA taking a stand against Capitalistic fat cat funded elections that resulted in the election of political pawns who refused for over a decade to end three crises caused by the most greedy real estate landlords, is the only way to restore democracy, American Dream and a healthy economy in NYC. DSA lawmakers following the principles of DSA can restore the American Dream that the corrupt Democratic leadership refused to do, and NEVER will do. Having the DSA lawmakers united to proclaim that it is NOT ACCEPTABLE to DSA ideals to continue as the norm, when long established successful popular business owners who created good paying jobs are forced to close due only because they have no rights to negotiate fair lease terms and then too have these once thriving store fronts remain empty for sometimes years. This is real estate oligarchy corrupted Capitalism in the extreme.

It is simple, only DSA lawmakers have the political will and courage to stand up to REBNY and end three crises and a real estate oligarchy economy! Only DSA lawmakers can be an honest voice for small business owners and their workers and restore the American Dream for the “backbone of local economies” in NYC.

For over a decade every Council Member had the choice: either being on the side of business owners and their workers during their time of crisis or be on the side of landlords during their time of reaping windfall profits. An easy choice from a moral, economic justice, and will of the people stance but a difficult choice from a political stance because not being on the side of landlords would mean having REBNY as an enemy against your political career. The litmus test for a lawmaker’s true progressive values, courage, willing to “doing the right thing” and committed to serving the will of the people would be between the two bills: small business advocates’ Jobs Survival Act or the lobby’s REBNY’s Bill.

Part III

DSA lawmakers need to wake up and be smart to realize they have been deceived by REBNY’s loyalists and that DSA lawmakers are in the same boat that small business owners and their workers are in. A boat that REBNY is trying to sink! We will show how actions DSA lawmakers can take to make REBNY’s scheme backfire. Actions to finally Checkmate REBNY’s oligarchy economy!